From Davenport University Athletics
By Ryan Thompson
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The men’s ACHA D1 Hockey team had a very good weekend with a pair of wins against No. 16 Pittsburgh and now have won three straight games against nationally-ranked teams to improve to 9-5 overall and 6-2 at Patterson Ice Center.
Davenport tied their season high with nine goals on Friday night in a 9-4 victory over Pitt. It was a slow start for DU as they trailed 1-0 after the first period. The momentum began to shift on a short-handed goal by Justin Turner at 3:27 of the second period. It was Turner’s third goal of the season and was assisted by Taber Gutschick and Ryan Blackburn. Blackburn then gave DU a 2-1 lead at 8:41 with his third goal of the season from Branwen Pollett.
The teams then traded goals for the rest of the period and went into the locker room at 4-4. Gutschick scored his second goal of the season at 15:57 and Ryder McMillen scored his fourth of the season at 17:52. The third period totally belonged to the Davenport skaters as they scored five times in a 10-minute span. Austin Melone, Kristers Klavins, Noah Bradburn, Turner, and Robert McLaughlin keyed the balanced offense in the final 20 minutes with a goal. Nathan Gauthier got the win in net by stopping 42 shots.
The Saturday rematch was closely contested and saw Davenport rally from being down 2-0 after the first period. The team scored three straight goals in the second and third periods to take a 3-2 lead. Trent Benedict notched his eighth goal of the year at 14:57 of the second period for that period’s only score.
Kieran Thiessen got the scoring going in the third period at the 2:02 mark from McMillen. Gutschick gave DU the lead for the first time at 9:23 from Blackburn. Pitt would force overtime at 12:02 as Maverick Crupi scored his fifth of the season.
The five-minute overtime yielded no result as so the teams went into a shootout. Crupi scored on the first chance for Pitt, but then Kyler Lowden stopped the next five tries. McMillen was the third shooter and scored to send the shootout into extra attempts. Finally on the sixth try, Thiessen found the net for the 4-3 win for DU. Lowden finished with 34 saves in regulation and overtime to get the win in net.
(Originally published at https://dupanthers.com/news/2024/10/27/mens-ice-hockey-di-du-sends-pitt-home-with-a-pair-of-losses-at-the-pat.aspx)
